Man charged with false threat about flight leaving Chicago

March 12, 2018Updated: March 12, 2018 6:56am

Photo: AP

This March 2018 photo provided by the Chicago Police Department shows Michael Bielinski, charged with making a false bomb threat after telling a fellow passenger Friday, March 9, 2018, on a plane preparing to depart Chicago that it was going to explode. (Chicago Police Department via AP)

This March 2018 photo provided by the Chicago Police Department...

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say a man has been charged with making a false bomb threat after telling a fellow passenger on a plane preparing to depart Chicago that it was going to explode.

Court documents say 28-year-old Michael Bielinski of Chicago told a woman sitting next to him "we're all going to die" Friday evening as the American Airlines flight was getting ready to leave O'Hare International Airport for Sacramento, California.

Prosecutors say the woman reported Bielinski smelled of gasoline and took out a pipe containing liquid that turned out to be an electronic cigarette.

The plane returned to the gate and Bielinski was arrested. He was charged Sunday and ordered held on $5,000 bail.

A public defender says Bielinski has hired a private attorney, but the lawyer wasn't at court Sunday.